Cowboys Trivia Answers...

Just as few notes to flesh out the answers to the four trivia questions about Rice Owls playing for the Cowboys....

1. Can you name the first Owl to play for the Cowboys?

Bill Howton was the first Owl to suit up for the Cowboys, who eagerly snapped up the former four-time Pro Bowler after he was released by the Cleveland Browns.Howton twice led the NFL in receiving yards as a member of the Packers, including a career-best 1,231 yards (in 12 games) in his rookie season of 1952. Howton would go on to catch 161 passes in four seasons for the Cowboys, but none might have been more memorable than the 17th of his 23 receptions in 1960.By catching an 11-yard TD pass from Eddie LeBaron with just over two minutes left, Howton gave the Cowboys a 31-31 tie with the New York Giants that not only ended the Giants' hopes of winning the Eastern Conference for the third consecutive year, it allowed Dallas head coach Tom Landry to make a successful return to Yankee Stadium, where he had been one of main reasons for the Giants success as an assistant coach before taking the job in Dallas.

2. Which legendary Owl wrapped up his NFL career with the Cowboys?

Dicky Maegle (he later changed the spelling to match the correct phoenetics of his last name) was the answer we were looking for, but the wording was jumbled enough to allow that Howton and Buddy Dial also were correct.No doubt each was a legendary figure for their performance at Rice.Maegle was a defensive back for the Cowboys in 1961, his final season in the NFL. Originally drafted in the first round (10th player overall) by the San Francisco 49er's out of Rice, he played in San Francisco for five years, then moved on to one season in Pittsburgh (where he was a teammate of Dial's) and then on to the Cowboys, where he concluded his career by playing in all 14 games and intercepting a pair of passes.

3. After going 0-11-1 in their first season, the Cowboys won their opener in 1961 for the first in in their history. Can you name the Owl who was the Cowboys' leading receiver that day?

Howton caught six passes for 138 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown from Eddie LeBaron as the Cowboys defeated Pittsburgh 27-24 to record the franchise's first win in the opener of the 1961 season.Dial nearly mirrored his effort, catching five passes for 137 yards, including a 44-yard scoring strike from Bobby Layne to lead the Steelers.

4. Can you name the Owl who scored a touchdown in the first-ever game in Cowboys history?

It was a bit of a trick question, but Buddy Dial caught a 70-yard TD from Tom Tracy in the Steelers 35-28 win over the Cowboys in their debut game in the NFL.Dial would go on to lead the NFL with a 24.3 yards per catch average that season, a mark that ranked 19th in NFL history heading into the 2010 season.Dial would go on to make a pair of Pro Bowls with the Steelers (1961 & 1963) before joining Dallas in 1964 and closing out his career in 1966 as a reserve on the first Cowboys team to reach the NFL title game.